[samaspire]

Another WA forward, but for once it's really good


Once again The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternative meanings for common words.

The winners are:

1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
j
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle (n), olive-flavoured mouthwash.

9. Flatulence (n.), emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

The Washington Post's Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

The winners are:
-Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

-Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

-Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

-Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

-Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

- Karmageddon (n): It's like, when everybody is sending off all these Really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

- Glibido (v): All talk and no action.

- Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

- Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.

And the pick of the literature:

- Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an a**h*le*.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by samaspire

Another WA forward, but for once it's really good ...

Very, very good! Thank you very much

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by samaspire

Once again The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternative meanings for common words.

-Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

- Glibido (v): All talk and no action.

My wife is having a hard time deciding which of the two describe me better

- Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an a**h*le*.

She agrees I am not that bad even though I try very hard

[AltoLXI]

Never knew Shashi Tharoor was instrumental in coming up with the word "prepone".

He writes in the "The week" thus:

I have long immodestly considered myself the inventor of the term 'prepone'. I came up with it at St Stephen’s in 1972, used it extensively in conversation and employed it in an article in JS magazine soon after.

Interestingly here are two more links discussing about "prepone"

Stackexchange

CSM

[binand]

Originally Posted by AltoLXI

Never knew Shashi Tharoor was instrumental in coming up with the word "prepone".

Shashi Tharoor is probably tooting his own horn. In fact, after the success of his "exasperating farrago of distortions" comment I see that he is overtly trying to cement his position as the one with the best vocabulary around.

The word "prepone" was part of my father's vocabulary in in the early/mid eighties. Often used in Malayalam sentences, like: "നീ റെയിൽവേ സ്റ്റേഷനിൽ പോയി ആ ടിക്കറ്റൊന്ന് പ്രീപോൺ ചെയ്യാൻ പറ്റുമോ എന്ന് നോക്ക്" (you go to the station and check if you can "prepone" the ticket). He claimed he picked it up during his schooling days in the sixties.

Edit: The Week article is dated 3/6/2018, but it is only 1/6 today?

[AltoLXI]

Originally Posted by binand

The word "prepone" was part of my father's vocabulary in in the early/mid eighties. He claimed he picked it up during his schooling days in the sixties.

So we can assume the word has Malayalam roots.

Originally Posted by binand

Edit: The Week article is dated 3/6/2018, but it is only 1/6 today?

I suppose it is the current week's issue for the week ending 3rd June.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by samaspire

Another WA forward, but for once it's really good

Brilliant! A few more in the same vein (but not as clever as those in your post, IMO), again from a WA forward:

*Errorist* : Someone who repeatedly makes mistakes.

*Askhole* : A person who constantly asks for your advice, yet always does the opposite of what you tell them.

*Ambitchous* : Striving to be more of a bitch than the average bitch.

*Dudevorce* : When two male best friends officially end their friendship over a lame disagreement, usually concerning a girl.

*Nonversation* : A completely worthless conversation, wherein nothing is illuminated, explained or otherwise elaborated upon. Typically occurs at parties, bars or other events .

*Destinesia* : When you get to where you were intending to go, you forget why you were going there in the first place. Not to be confused with being stoned.

*Unkeyboardinated* : Lacking physical or mental keyboard coordination; unable to type without repeatedly making mistakes.

*Cellfish*: Those who continue to talk on their cell phone, oblivious to the effect on others around them.

*Textpectation* :The anticipation one feels when waiting for a response to a text message.

*Carcolepsy*:The inability to stay awake and alert when in a car, or any other thing that moves, such as trains, planes, and buses.

*Hiberdating* : Someone who ignores all their other friends when they are dating a boyfriend/girlfriend.

*Deja poop* : The feeling that the same shit keeps happening

Cheers,
Vikram

[dailydriver]

I came across a new coinage called phubbing, something most of us have either been guilty or victims of! It is defined as:

The practice of ignoring one's companion or companions in order to pay attention to one's phone or other mobile device

As in,

I hate to see a mother wheeling a stroller while phubbing her baby.

Source:(1) (2)

[Thad E Ginathom]

Google define prepone.

I like "verb, Indian!"

As I expected: early 20th century. Nobody living can claim it.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Google define prepone.

I like "verb, Indian!"

As I expected: early 20th century. Nobody living can claim it.

Any usage of prepone always reminds me of this Seinfeld episode:

https://youtu.be/fzPy8kSn7o0

[binand]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Google define prepone.

My question is this. If:

postpone: v.t. "cause or arrange for (something) to take place at a time later than that first scheduled", and
prepone: v.t. "bring (something) forward to an earlier date or time",

Then does "pone" mean "to take place exactly at the scheduled time"?

Like "BSY managed to pone his swearing in ceremony despite not having a clear majority"?

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by binand

My question is this. If:

postpone: v.t. "cause or arrange for (something) to take place at a time later than that first scheduled", and
prepone: v.t. "bring (something) forward to an earlier date or time",

Then does "pone" mean "to take place exactly at the scheduled time"?

Like "BSY managed to pone his swearing in ceremony despite not having a clear majority"?

Like Amitabh Bachchan said in Namak Halal "English is a very funny language".

https://youtu.be/XSrMb8IBsTQ

Watch from 1:07

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by binand

My question is this. If:

postpone: v.t. "cause or arrange for (something) to take place at a time later than that first scheduled", and
prepone: v.t. "bring (something) forward to an earlier date or time",

Then does "pone" mean "to take place exactly at the scheduled time"?

Like "BSY managed to pone his swearing in ceremony despite not having a clear majority"?

I am whelmed by your suggestion!

Have you ever been whelmed? We do actually say underwhelmed, but it has never really been formally accepted into the language, in the way that prepone has been, at least in India. But being simply whelmed? Probably not.

Essential to the idea of postponement, putting something off, is the element of change. Preponement got coined as the opposite, but still means a change. A thing must be scheduled before it can be postponed or preponed, and the word "pone," for that, just doesn't exist. But one day, it might. I would not welcome it with open arms, though, as I do "prepone!"

[Mu009]

Originally Posted by binand

My question is this. If:

postpone: v.t. "cause or arrange for (something) to take place at a time later than that first scheduled", and
prepone: v.t. "bring (something) forward to an earlier date or time",

Then does "pone" mean "to take place exactly at the scheduled time"?

This is called a "back formation neologism".
I think the term is self-explanatory.

While others may or may not welcome it, you are free to do so sir - that's what many writers have done. But then again, not everyone will accept your neologisms as much as Shakespeare's perhaps.

My favourite example of such a thing is a particularly famous one:
"I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled."
This is from The Code of the Woosters by Sir P.G. Wodehouse.

As you can see, used in such a context - understating another's emotions while juxtaposing the neologism with the source word for humorous effect - is not only widely accepted, but accepted as genius.

Originally Posted by binand

Like "BSY managed to pone his swearing in ceremony despite not having a clear majority"?

This is, as I said before, perfectly valid - but others might not get it out of context. And like Thad pointed out, even though he gets it, he may not happily accept it as he does prepone, if and when it enters common parlance.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I am whelmed by your suggestion!

This on the other hand...

[binand]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I am whelmed by your suggestion!

Reminded me of this article that I simply had to dig out of my old (Lynx/Mosaic days) bookmarks.html:

http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~beatrice/...t-my-wife.html

Originally Posted by Mu009

This is called a "back formation neologism".
I think the term is self-explanatory.

Thanks. I am aware of the concept.